On Sunday, August 7, twelve Christians from the Foursquare Gospel Church in Horana, Kalutara District met for worship, despite threats by a mob the previous week. According to an August 9 report from the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL), approximately fifty Buddhists disrupted the service, demanding that the Christians leave and not return.
The pastor called the police and both sides were asked to come to the police station. The mob claimed that the Christians had no right worshipping in the village which is almost entirely Buddhist. Though the police inspector acknowledged the Christians' right to worship, he ordered the Christians to stop meeting immediately since their meetings were disturbing the peace. They were further told they could not meet anywhere else.
Pray for these believers as they consider their response at this point. Pray for Christians throughout Sri Lanka facing intimidation from those opposed to the spread of the Gospel.
For more information on the challenges of being a Christian in Sri Lanka, click here. Earlier this year, The Voice of the Martyrs Canada released a new video report, "Faith Under Fire: Sri Lanka," available from our online catalog. A 14-minute excerpt of this video is available online for the first time in the Video section of VOMC's multimedia website, www.vomcanada.com.
Population
